Josef Laurent (Librarian)

Josef Laurent (full name: Josef Gerhard Laurent ; * January 8, 1808 in Aachen ; † January 24, 1867 ibid) was a German archivist and librarian at the Aachen City Library .

Live and act

The son of the Luxembourger Francis Laurent and Gertrude from Aachen Fine and brother of the Apostolic Vicar Johannes Theodor Laurent studied for his school days at the Aachen School at the University of Bonn the tray Philology . With a successful final exam, he moved back to Aachen, where he initially worked as a private scholar in science and as a private tutor in the household of befriended families, especially in the Hatzfeld family .

After the death of Aachen city librarian Christian Quix (1773–1844), Laurent was entrusted with the takeover of the Aachen city library and at the same time with the administration of the Aachen city archive , a mammoth task, as it turned out, since both institutions were relocated to new premises and rearranged and reorganized should be.

After its repatriation in 1797 from Münster by Karl Franz Leonhard Meyer (1763–1821), where it had been brought to safety from the French by his father Karl Franz Meyer (1728–1795), as was the case in, the Aachen City Archives The city library founded in 1831 is still housed in the city hall of Aachen . On the basis of a resolution by the Mayor of Aachen Johann Contzen (1809–1875) and his city council, the Aachen City Hall according to the specifications of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia (1795–1861) and according to old plans from the time of Gerhard Chorus (1285– 1367), taking into account the more recent suggestions of the archaeologist and art historian Cornelius Peter Bock (1804–1870), the city library and city archive had to be moved to surrounding buildings. Thanks to his outstanding knowledge of archival material and his organizational talent, Laurent succeeded in this double task in an excellent way that shaped the future. He also succeeded in bringing generous donations from specialist and private libraries in Aachen, for example from August von Fürth (1812–1846) or from the Aachen doctors Georg von Sartorius (1887–1856) and Joseph Hartung (1805–1863) to the city library to integrate and thus to make them attractive for further potential testators.

Finally, Laurent set about his main work, the documents of the archive from the second half of the 14th century in continuation of the " codex diplomaticus aquensis " by Christian Quix, until the 16th century. More than 270 certificates were evaluated by Laurent and made legible again. Likewise, in his second major work, " The Aachen Conditions in the XIV. Century ", he also made an outstanding contribution to the compilation of the civil , commercial and economic conditions in Aachen, when, on the basis of the evaluation of city accounts from the years 1334 to 1396, he provided the city archives with an introduction, index and glossary . This gave interested citizens detailed information about imperial and royal visits, about festivals, clothing and habits of the citizens and the nobility, natural and artificial products, everyday objects, but also financial support for commercial and social institutions as well as grants for alliances and representative buildings and much more can be made available.

In recognition of his knowledge, the city administration entrusted him with the honorable task of drafting a plan for decorating the front wall of the town hall with historical statues. Due to the history of this building, Laurent decided on a threefold cycle of pictures, on the one hand Charlemagne (747–814) and his surroundings, then Charles IV (1316–1378) along with other princes present at the coronations and, finally, important representatives of the free Imperial city and its officials and guild boards . Laurent also fulfilled this mandate with the utmost conscientiousness and meticulousness, despite some contradictions in the citizenry. Still full of ideas and creativity, Laurent died suddenly and unexpectedly on January 24th, 1867 as a result of an unfortunate fall. He found his final resting place in the Aachen Ostfriedhof .

Josef Laurent was married to Therese, née Raitz von Frentz (1809–1888) from Listringhausen , with whom he had four sons, including Joseph Laurent , who later became the Aachen city architect .

Fonts (selection)

• Aachen conditions in the 14th century. Edited by Peter Kaatzer . Kaatzer, Aachen 1876 (posthumously).

literature

• Friedrich Haagen:  Laurent, Josef Gerhard . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 18, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1883, pp. 59-61.

Web links

Wikisource: Josef Laurent  - Sources and full texts

• Entry in the Library of Congress